Fall of Jesselton 1942: How Japan Conquered British North Borneo in Weeks
What was Jesselton like before the war?
Jesselton in 1941 was a small port town and not yet the capital. British North Borneo was run by the British North Borneo Company from London, and the seat of government was at Sandakan (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026). Jesselton remained in Sandakan's shadow until the war (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026).
The North Borneo Railway linked Jesselton with Beaufort and Weston in the south, and it was this line the Japanese would use to reach the town (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
Why was British North Borneo unprepared for war?
General Percival's official despatch on the Malayan campaign says British North Borneo had several excellent natural harbours, all undefended. There was a small but efficient local Volunteer Force, but no regular troops could be spared. The Governor was told by the Commander-in-Chief Far East that the territory could not be defended and that local forces should concentrate on internal security (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
There were no aerodromes in North Borneo either. Plans for air facilities in British Borneo had been postponed, apart from an air landing ground at Kuching and a landing strip at Miri in Sarawak (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
How did Japan attack British Borneo?
Japanese troops landed in Kelantan in the early hours of 8 December 1941, the start of the war in Malaya (Percival's despatch, checked 7 October 2026).
In Borneo, Japanese troops landed at Seria in Brunei at 3.30am on 16 December 1941. Japanese aircraft bombed Kuching on 19 and 20 December, and after fighting near the Kuching aerodrome on 25 December the defending force, the 2/15 Punjab Regiment, withdrew into Dutch Borneo (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
On 3 January 1942 a small Japanese force took the undefended island of Labuan. The same day a detachment crossed in a captured motor vessel to Mempakul on the North Borneo coast, went on to Weston, commandeered a train and travelled to Beaufort (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
What happened when Japanese forces reached Jesselton?
On 6 January 1942 Japanese forces entered Jesselton by rail from Beaufort. The whole west coast was now under Japanese control, and Governor C. R. Smith cut all connection between the east and west coast Residencies (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
On 19 January a Japanese force of about 600 reached Sandakan, the seat of government. The Governor surrendered the whole state at 9am that day, refused to carry on the administration under Japanese control, and was interned with his staff. Tawau was occupied on 24 January, Lahad Datu on 26 or 27 January and Kudat around 1 February, when the whole state came under Japanese control. On the Governor's orders a great deal of denial damage was done before the Japanese arrived, including sinking coastal vessels and local craft (Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026).
Jesselton went back to its old local name, Api Api, for the occupation years (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026). The Japanese ran North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak together as Kita Boruneo, divided into five regions. Jesselton fell in the West Coast region, Seikai-shu (Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 2024, checked 7 October 2026). The town took back the name Jesselton after the war. The state assembly passed a bill renaming it Kota Kinabalu on 22 December 1967 (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026), and the renaming took effect on 30 September 1968 (Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), checked 7 October 2026).
What did Japanese occupation mean for Sabah?
Relations with local people were at first relatively calm. After 1943, under growing Allied pressure and struggling to get supplies, the Japanese administration turned to harsher measures, intimidating local people and confiscating their property and food, which fuelled resentment (Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 2024, checked 7 October 2026).
Allied prisoners of war were also brought to North Borneo. Sandakan, Labuan and Jesselton held three of the main camps (Australian War Memorial, checked 7 October 2026).
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December 1941 | Japanese troops land in Kelantan; war begins in Malaya | Kota Bharu, Kelantan |
| 16 December 1941 | Japanese troops land at Seria | Brunei |
| 25 December 1941 | Fighting near Kuching aerodrome; defenders withdraw to Dutch Borneo | Kuching, Sarawak |
| 3 January 1942 | Japanese take Labuan; detachment lands at Mempakul and reaches Beaufort by train | Labuan, Weston, Beaufort |
| 6 January 1942 | Japanese forces enter Jesselton by rail from Beaufort | Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) |
| 19 January 1942 | Japanese reach Sandakan; Governor C. R. Smith surrenders North Borneo | Sandakan |
| About 1 February 1942 | Kudat occupied; whole state under Japanese control | Kudat |
| 9–13 October 1943 | Kinabalu Guerrilla Defence Force revolt; Japanese strike back on 13 October | Jesselton, Tuaran, Menggatal |
| 21 January 1944 | 176 people killed at Petagas | Petagas, Putatan |
| 10 June 1945 | Australian landings in Brunei Bay, including Labuan (Oboe Six) | Labuan, Brunei Bay |
| 10 September 1945 | Lieutenant General Masao Baba surrenders to Major General Wootten on Labuan | Labuan |
Sources: 1941 to 1942 from Percival's despatch, London Gazette, transcribed by FEPOW Family, checked 7 October 2026; 1943 to 1944 from Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 2024, checked 7 October 2026 and Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026; 1945 from Royal Australian Navy, checked 7 October 2026, Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs, checked 7 October 2026 and Australian War Memorial, checked 7 October 2026.
What resistance movements emerged during occupation?
On 9 October 1943 the Kinabalu Guerrilla Defence Force (KGDF), led by Albert Kwok, launched an attack on the Japanese and took Jesselton, Tuaran and Menggatal. The rising is known as the Double Tenth revolt, after China's national day on 10 October. It lasted only three days before the Japanese struck back on 13 October. Kwok surrendered on 19 December 1943 (Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 2024, checked 7 October 2026). Indigenous fighters also took part, including the Suluk leader Panglima Alli, who was taken to Petagas and killed on 21 January 1944 along with Kwok and other KGDF members (Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 2024, checked 7 October 2026). The Petagas War Memorial stands where 176 people were killed that day (Sabah Tourism, checked 7 October 2026).
In 1945 the Australian Army's Z Special Unit ran Operation Agas in North Borneo, gathering intelligence and organising, training and arming local people into resistance groups (Australian War Memorial, checked 7 October 2026).
Allied prisoners suffered terribly. From 1942 almost 2,500 prisoners of war were held at Sandakan and forced to build an airstrip. By late 1944 the Japanese had decided to send about 2,000 of them westward to Ranau, and the forced marches ran from January to June 1945 (Sabah Tourism Board, Sandakan Day, checked 7 October 2026). Those left at Sandakan all died or were killed, and only six, all Australians, out of about a thousand sent to Ranau survived the war (Australian War Memorial, checked 7 October 2026).
How did the war end in Sabah?
Australian forces of the 9th Division landed in Brunei Bay, including Labuan, on 10 June 1945 in Operation Oboe Six (Royal Australian Navy, checked 7 October 2026; Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs, checked 7 October 2026). It took 11 days to liberate Labuan (Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs, checked 7 October 2026).
On 10 September 1945 Lieutenant General Masao Baba, the Japanese commander in Borneo, flew to Labuan and surrendered to Major General George Wootten, commander of the 9th Australian Division (Australian War Memorial, checked 7 October 2026).
The war left much of North Borneo in ruins. Sandakan was almost flattened. Jesselton suffered less than Sandakan (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026), though only three buildings were left standing (Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), checked 7 October 2026). The Chartered Company could not pay for reconstruction and handed North Borneo to the British Crown in July 1946, and the authorities chose to rebuild Jesselton as the new capital instead of Sandakan (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026). North Borneo joined Malaysia as Sabah on 16 September 1963 (New Straits Times, checked 7 October 2026).